You haven't taken down last year's Christmas lights yet, and here we are, another Christmas right around the corner. While you're merrily bopping through the mall, some fiend is working up a devious plan to snatch your credit card number or sell you junk you don't need.

Today's Watchdog column offers tips on how to protect yourself from crooks during the shopping season, and how to stay ahead of corporate America's latest tricks to separate you from your cash.

Here is more advice, from a variety of experts.

Buying Electronics Online: know the red flags of a scam site

By Edward Johnson, president & CEO of the Better Business Bureau serving the Northeast and Eastern Pennsylvania region

Consumer electronics are an integral part of our everyday life. We rely on these goods and they enhance our ability to communicate and entertain. From cell phones to audio equipment, TVs and digital cameras, the list of items is endless. The latest items in electronic goods are also generally found at the top of most people’s holiday wish list. Because of the economy, holiday spending is expected to drop slightly this year from 2008, and some industry experts predict that retailers will make deep price cuts, particularly on electronics, to lure in shoppers.

Shoppers are increasingly heading to the Internet to look for great buys. According to a survey from Burst Media, 85.3 percent of respondents will shop online this holiday season. Unfortunately, not all Web sites promising rock bottom discounts on electronics are legitimate and consumers need to do their research when shopping online or they risk getting ripped off by a scammer’s online store. The Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns online shoppers that some deals online for electronics are too good to be true.

The BBB is advising holiday shoppers to keep an eye out for five red flags of unscrupulous consumer electronics stores:

The prices for items are too good to be true. Everyone is looking for a bargain on electronics and scammers use tantalizingly low prices to lure victims in. If the prices for items are well below those of trusted competitors, it’s a sign to walk away.

Spelling and grammatical errors abound. Some phony electronics Web sites are created by scammers overseas. As a result, the Web sites, or spam e-mails directing shoppers to the site, might have many grammatical mistakes or spelling errors.

The business accepts payment via wire transfer only. Scammers often ask victims to wire payment through Western Union or MoneyGram because the money cannot be easily tracked or retrieved in the case of fraud. The BBB recommends always using a credit card to pay for electronics online. If the Web site turns out to be fraudulent, you can dispute the charge with your credit card carrier and hopefully get your money back.

The business has a bad rating with the BBB. Always review the business’s reliability report online at www.bbb.org to find out what rating it has received from the BBB. If you don’t find a BBB Reliability Report®, it doesn’t necessarily mean the business is fraudulent, but it may indicate the business has not been around for long or has yet to develop a track record with consumers.

The Web site fraudulently uses security seals. Scam websites will often display the seals from certification organizations such as VeriSign, IQNet or TRUSTe without authorization or falsely claim to be accredited by the BBB. When shopping online you want to look for the seals of trusted organizations and confirm that the business’s use of the seal is legitimate.

You can typically do this by clicking on the seal which, if legitimate, will link you to a confirmation page on the certifying organization’s site. The BBB warns, however, that some scammers have craftily created fake confirmation pages spoofing the real certifying organization’s site so make sure you really have been redirected to the legitimate site by checking the Web address. Are you on the Web site of the certifying organization? If not, the use of the seal is likely unauthorized. Double check your conclusion by directly visiting the Web site of the certifier to find their list of legitimate seal holders.

Shop safely online and think before you click.

Tips from Scott Stevenson, Founder and CEO of Eliminate ID Theft(courtesy of The Spizman Aqency)

Beware of Skimming - During the holidays, stores use temporary workers to accommodate the shoppers who crowd the malls. These workers often go through a much-less thorough screening process than full-time, salaried workers. Often paid hourly at a minimum wage, these workers can be lured by the promise of quick money that skimming credit card numbers offers.

-Know what a skimmer looks like. Google Images has plenty of pictures. Skimmers are small machines that look similar to other credit card technology, and thus can easily be overlooked even when used out in the open.

-When possible, use cash. That way, you won't be a target of identity fraud.

Be on the Lookout - From an experienced thief to a proprietary teenager, anyone can steal a credit card number and use it to ruin your finances and credit.

-Watch to make sure no one copies down your card numbers. Shred all receipts, as many of these contain credit card expiration dates, as well as the last four digits of the card numbers.

Protect Your Information - The National Retail Federation estimated that nearly half of consumers would shop online in 2007; more than 61 million people would do so from work, potentially spreading their financial information on more than one computer.

-Erase all cookies. Make sure no one can sit down at your computer and access your information.

Think Before You Click! E-mails containing links to online stores often contain phishing software that records your personal information as you type. Find reputable online stores using a search engine, such as Google, and add these stores to your favorites so you don't have to trust e-mail advertisements.

Look for the Lock, the padlock that is. This icon at the bottom of an Internet window, along with the "http" or "https" at the beginning of a Web site, denotes security. Other indications that a site is trustworthy include notations from TRUSTe, Verisign, The Better Business Bureau and McAffee Secure. Additionally, when a site has Extended Validation SSL (a higher level of security) the address bar turns green and the organization's name is displayed to show that it's been certified. You can also check to see if the company is Visa CISP (Cardholder Information Security Program) compliant.

Use Temporary Credit Card Numbers, provided upon customer request by many credit card companies, for online shopping. Even legitimate Web sites sometimes get hacked into; by using a temporary credit card number, you can avoid thieves racking up additional charges on your regular card.

Avoid Fakes. Some shopping sites that offer deep discounts really are too good to be true. These sites allow you to add items to your virtual shopping cart and enter your payment information upon check out, just like any reputable site, except the products never arrive-they never existed in the first place, and now the criminals have your money and your personal information! When possible, order through well-known sites like Amazon.com, eBay.com and Yahoo. Check to see if smaller sites have contact information that connects you to a live person, rather than just an online form. If a company skimps on contact information, it might be a sign to steer clear.

Shop in Private from your personal computer rather than one at work, a friend's house, a hotel or the airport. You never know what cookies or hacking tools may accidentally be on public computers, and you don't want your information stored where others can see it.

CONSUMERS MISUNDERSTAND GIFT CARDS(courtesy of the Consumer Federation of America)

Oct. 26 - A consumer survey commissioned by the Consumer Federation of America (CFA) and undertaken by the Opinion Research Corporation earlier this month revealed widespread misunderstanding of general purpose gift cards, also sometimes called bank or cash gift cards, and most of which are issued by Visa, Mastercard, or American Express. Only 33 percent of a representative sample of 1004 adult Americans know how much these cards cost to purchase, and only 54 percent are aware that “six to twelve months after purchase, some of these gift cards charge a monthly fee.”

A large majority of the more than $50 billion consumers are estimated to spend on gift cards this year represent purchase of store cards with no fees or expiration date. But nearly $4 billion, and a growing percentage, represent purchase of general purchase gift cards that can be used at most stores, but which usually cost $4 to $7 to purchase and sometimes are subject to monthly fees as high as $4.95 as early as six months after purchase. These general purpose cards are the most controversial gift cards, the ones targeted by Congress this year when it passed legislation establishing new consumer protections.

“Consumers clearly like the convenience and flexibility of general purpose gift cards but also are largely unaware of their costs and risks,” noted CFA Executive Director Stephen Brobeck.

Today, CFA and the National Association of Consumer Agency Administrators (NACAA), the association of state and local consumer protection agencies, are making available a new consumer brochure on gift cards, which the two organizations wrote, that NACAA will distribute to its member agencies and American Express will distribute, 1.5 million copies, to major retailers such as CVS and Walgreens.

NACAA President Elisabeth Owen said that “gift cards will be popular gifts this holiday season, and it is vital that consumers know the rules to get the best for their hard-earned money.”

Stefan Happ, General Manager and Vice President of U.S. Gift Cards, American Express said: “This is one of the first consumer educational brochures about gift cards, and we’re delighted to join efforts with CFA and NACAA to distribute it to consumers through our robust retail network.”

The brochure’s key recommendations for general purpose gift card purchasers are to pay attention to the card’s expiration date and charges, especially the initial purchase price and any monthly charges typically assessed after six to twelve months. The brochure’s key recommendation to gift card recipients is to use all the card’s value as soon as possible, within six months if possible. If they do, users are more likely to use all the card’s value: An estimated 10 percent of this value is never used, and another percentage is lost through monthly fees assessed. Moreover, in a selective store survey, CFA found some cards with expiration dates less than 12 months away. (This recommendation to use all value in six months also applies to store gift cards since its application reduces the chances of lost card value because of store bankruptcy.)

The consumer survey was conducted for CFA by ORC on October 16-19, 2009, with a margin of error of plus or minus three percentage points. It found that 37 percent of respondents said they had given or received a general purpose gift card in the past two years, with 25 percent saying they had given this type of card and 28 percent saying they had received such a card. The higher household income, the more likely respondents are to have given or received a general purpose gift card, for example, 58 percent of those with household incomes at least $100,000, 37 percent of those with incomes between $50,000 and $75,000, but only 26 percent of those with incomes under $25,000.

In a question asked only of those who had received a gift card, 17 percent said that at some time they had had “trouble spending the entire balance because a store refused a split payment on a purchase greater than your card’s balance.” General purpose gift card issuers have informed us that they are working to reduce this consumer irritant by persuading retailers, especially all major chains, to allow consumers to use the remaining amount on a card then cover the remaining purchase price with some other form of payment.

The most striking survey findings, however, concerned consumer misunderstanding of general purpose gift cards. In response to four true-false questions:

Only one-third of respondents (33%) understand that gift cards cost between $4 and $7 to purchase.

Only 54 percent understand that six to twelve months after purchase, some of these gift cards charge a monthly fee. (Recently, American Express dropped monthly charges on all its general purpose gift cards.)

Only 39 percent understand that some stores will not permit splitting payment for a purchase between a gift card and some other payment method.

And, only 41 percent are aware that a new federal law that goes into effect next year prohibits fees being charged on gift cards if they have been used in the past 12 months. This protection was part of credit card reform legislation passed this year. The gift card protections go into effect in August 2010.

Follow these tips to help avoid scams and rip-offs. Be a privacy-smart consumer!(courtesy of Privacy Rights Clearinghouse)

1.Don’t Debit. Don’t use a debit or check card to pay for your purchases. These cards typically put consumers at much greater risk than credit cards because they offer fewer consumer protections in the event of a loss. Because these cards access funds directly from your bank account, your money may remain missing while you and your bank sort out any theft, which could mean bounced checks, late fees, and numerous other problems. Your checking account (and related savings accounts) could be wiped out in minutes.

Some crooks use “skimming” devices to steal your card information from merchant card-swipe machines. Debit or check cards pose a much greater risk to consumers in the event that a card is “skimmed.”

2.Many Unhappy Returns. Be aware of a store’s return policy. Some retailers require a state-issued ID or license when you return or exchange merchandise. Typically, stores swipe the shopper's driver's license when a return is being made, and if the store's return limit is exceeded, the return is denied. Retailers do this to keep better track of possible return fraud. Some retailers maintain their own database while others use a third-party service. A number of national merchants outsource the collection of return and exchange data to a company called The Retail Equation (formerly The Return Exchange). If you make repeated returns or exchanges to a participating merchant, subsequent returns to that merchant’s stores may be refused.

3.No You Can’t See It. You’ve probably encountered this situation numerous times. You are in a store paying for your purchase with your credit card. The cashier asks to see your driver’s license. Do you have to show it? Probably not!

Merchants may ask a customer for identification, but in most situations, a merchant may not condition acceptance of a Visa or MasterCard credit card upon the customer presenting identification. In other words, you can refuse to provide identification, and the merchant still must accept your credit card. Many merchants ignore this rule. Identification may be required for purposes other than the credit card transaction itself, for example, when purchasing alcohol, tobacco products, or certain drugs. Identification may also be required for unusual transactions flagged during the credit card authorization process.

Some consumers feel that asking for an ID helps protect them from identity theft, but others want to protect their privacy and personal security by not revealing their address, birth date, and other information contained on their driver’s license to a stranger.

4.The Gift that Keeps on Taking. If you decide to purchase a gift card, be aware of expiration dates, fees, and what will happen if the card is lost. Many states have passed laws regulating gift cards. However, these laws generally do not give you a right to recover from a lost or stolen card. Rather, most state laws cover such things as service fees, expiration dates, and exempt the cards from unclaimed property laws. A new federal law, the Credit Card Accountability, Responsibility, and Disclosure (CARD) Act of 2009 provides some nationwide consumer protection for gift cards. Unfortunately, the gift card provisions of the CARD Act do not go into effect until August 2010. So gift cards purchased this holiday season will not be eligible for the new federal protections.

5.Truncation is Not a Dirty Word. Make sure that the credit card receipts that you receive from merchants do not contain your full account number. Under federal law, all electronically printed credit and debit card receipts must shorten (truncate) the account information to no more than the last five digits of the card number. The receipt must also not include the card’s expiration date. This only applies to electronically printed receipts, not to handwritten or imprinted ones. It does not apply to transaction records retained by the merchant.

6.Check This Out. Some states have laws that dictate what kind of information merchants cannot ask for or write down when a consumer pays with a check or credit card. For example, in California, when a consumer pays with a credit card, the merchant cannot record any personal information other than what is on the front of the credit card. When a consumer pays by check, the merchant cannot record the credit card number.

7.Keep It Clean. Clean out your wallet, purse, or pocketbook. Remove unnecessary credit cards, debit cards, your Social Security card, and other unneeded documents that could compromise your identity if lost or stolen while shopping. Keep them locked up in a safe place. Pickpockets will be out in force during the holiday season. The more you carry with you, the more difficult and time-consuming it will be to report and recover from your loss.

8.Be Alert, Be Aware. Don’t forget to take simple precautions to protect your personal safety. Men can carry their wallets in a front pocket, which is less susceptible to pickpocketing. Women can place their purse strap over their head and across their chest. When shopping at night, park in a well-lit area. Be careful getting into and out of your car at the shopping mall -- people are sometimes targeted by muggers when doing so.

9.Be Safe Online. When shopping online, make sure that the Web site uses encryption technology before you provide your personal information. Encryption scrambles the information you send, such as your credit card number, in order to prevent computer hackers from obtaining it en route. You can tell when you are on a secure web page several ways. If you look at the top of your screen in the address bar where the Web site address is displayed, you should see https://. The "s" that is displayed after "http" indicates that web site is secure. You may not see the "s" until you are actually on the order page on the Web site. Another way to determine if a Web page is secure is to look for a closed padlock displayed at the bottom of your screen. If that lock is open, you should assume it is not a secure site

The safest way to shop on the Internet is with a credit card. In the event something goes wrong, you are protected under the federal Fair Credit Billing Act. You have the right to dispute charges on your credit card, and you can withhold payments during a creditor investigation. When it has been determined that your credit was used without authorization, you are only responsible for the first $50 in charges. You are rarely asked to pay this charge. Make sure your credit card is a true credit card and not a debit card or a check card. A debit or check card exposes your bank account to thieves. Further, debit and check cards are not protected by federal law to the extent that credit cards are.

10.Seals of Approval. Be sure to check out a Web site’s privacy policy before providing any personal information online. You can also learn what type of information is gathered by the Web site, and how it is-- or is not--shared with others by reading its privacy policy. A link to the privacy policy is often found at the bottom of the site’s home page. You can also look for online merchants who are members of a seal-of-approval program that sets voluntary guidelines for privacy-related practices, such as TRUSTe, Verisign, or BBBonline.

Tips that may make shopping easier when buying gifts on Main Street, ordering by telephone, or purchasing on line in a virtual store.

(courtesy of the Wisconsin Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection)

Mail and Telephone ShoppingMany consumers enjoy the convenience of shopping by mail and telephone-overall, U.S. mail order sales exceed $229 billion. Merchants are required to ship mail-order merchandise within 30 days of receiving a completed order unless a longer time is clearly specified in ads or catalog listings.

For orders that cannot be shipped on time, the merchant must:

Notify the consumer of the new shipping date and give the consumer the option of canceling for a full refund. If the consumer does not respond to this notice, the merchant can presume the consumer has agreed to a delay of up to 30 days.

If the company cannot meet the revised shipping date, it must:

Send the consumer a second notice and, unless the consumer expressly consents to a second delay, cancel the order, and issue a prompt refund.

If a consumer cancels the order, the merchant is required to:

Make a full refund within seven days for cash, check or money-order sales, and within one billing cycle for charged sales.

The Bureau of Consumer Protection offers consumers the following advice on making mail/telephone-order purchases:

Order early to allow plenty of time for shipment and delivery. The holiday season is traditionally the busiest time of year for both mail-order companies and the Postal Service.

Keep a copy of the company's name, address, phone number, the date of your order, the ad or catalog from which you ordered, the order form you sent to the company, and a canceled check or charge account record.

Of course, calling a company can help determine a product's availability, the order's total cost, and the company's refund policy.

JewelryOne of the most popular holiday purchases is jewelry. If you're planning a gift of jewelry, here are some pointers for shoppers in the market for gold, diamonds, gemstones, or watches. And remember - before you buy - ask about the store's refund and return policy.

There's a big difference between 14 karat gold and gold-plated jewelry. Fourteen karat (14) jewelry contains 14 parts of gold, mixed in throughout with 10 parts of base metal. Gold-plated describes jewelry with a layer of at least 10K gold bonded to a base metal. Gold plating eventually wears away, depending on how often the item is worn and how thick the plating is.

When you're buying a diamond, consider four criteria: cut, color, clarity and weight, usually stated as karats. Each factor affects the price. Color is sometimes "graded" on a scale. However, scales are not uniform: a "D" may be the best color for one scale, but not for another. Make sure you know how a particular scale and grade represent the color of the diamond you're considering. A diamond can be described as "flawless" only if it has no visible surface cracks or other imperfections when viewed under 10-power magnification by a skilled diamond grader.

Know the difference between laboratory-created gemstones and naturally mined stones. Stones created in the lab are visually identical to stones mined from the earth. The big difference is in the cost: laboratory-created stones are less expensive than naturally mined stones. But, because they look just like stones mined from the earth, they must be identified as lab-created. If you want a naturally mined stone, ask if it has been treated. Gemstone treatments - such as heating, dyeing or bleaching - can improve a stone's appearance or durability. Some treatments are permanent; some may create special care requirements. Treatments also may affect the stone's value.

If you're buying a watch, ask if a warranty or guarantee is included, how long it lasts, and what parts and repair problems it covers. Also ask how and where you can get the watch serviced and repaired.

Using Credit CardsConsumers use credit cards more than usual during the holiday season. Fraud can result when cards are lost or stolen, or when people misappropriate credit-card numbers.

The Bureau of Consumer Protection recommends that consumers take the following precautions:

Never give a credit-card number over the telephone unless you have initiated the transaction and know the company you are dealing with is reputable.

Keep an eye on credit cards during transactions and get them back promptly.

Avoid signing blank receipts. When signing, draw a line through the blank space above the total, and keep copies of the receipts to compare with charges on your monthly billing statements.

Review credit-card accounts promptly every month and immediately report any questionable charges by writing to the company that issued the card.

Never lend credit cards, or leave them or receipts lying around. Never write credit-card numbers on a postcard.

Lost or Stolen CardsIf a credit card is lost, call the card company immediately. Most companies have toll-free numbers to report missing or stolen cards. Consumers may be liable, up to $50, for unauthorized purchases made on each card before reporting a loss or theft. Under federal law, consumers are not liable for any unauthorized charges after they call each company.

Loan OffersYour mail box may start to bulge with personal loan offers that are as simple as signing a form and sending it back to the company. This might be a quick way to handle the big holiday shopping bills, but first read the fine print. Many of these loans have high interest rates and fees. Compare the rates with local financial institutions before making a decision.

Some credit card companies offer a "free" month to skip a monthly payment so you can ease the tension of holiday bills. Again, read the fine print. The interest charges often continue to accumulate, costing you even more.

CybershoppingOnline shopping gives new meaning to convenience and choice. With a few keystrokes and a click of the mouse, you can shop at home-right from your computer. But before you "surf the net" to your favorite online mall, here are some basic tips about shopping in cyberspace.

Unsecured information sent over the Internet can be intercepted. Use a secure web browser, such as one that complies with industry standards-Secure Sockets Layer (SSL) or Secure Hypertext Transfer Protocol (SHTP)-which will "encrypt" or scramble purchase information.

Shop with companies you know and always determine the company's return and refund policy before you place an order.

Never give out your Internet password. Be original when creating a password, perhaps using a combination of letters, numbers or symbols-CUL8R or $2Burn. Also, be cautious if you're asked to provide personal information, such as your Social Security Number. It is rarely necessary and should raise a red flag.

Return and Layaway PoliciesFound the perfect gift for someone, but you are unsure if it's the correct size, color or style? Or maybe you're interested in a special purchase, but can't afford to pay cash and don't want to buy on credit. In Wisconsin, there are no state laws regulating store return and layaway policies. The store may set its own policy.

Take the time to check out the policies before you buy. Misunderstandings about refund policies abound and many problems could be prevented if consumers had a clear understanding of a store's policies before making a purchase.

Return PoliciesReturn policies may include a cash refund, a credit, an exchange or no refund at all. Some stores may also require a sales slip to be returned with the merchandise or specify that refunds are different for close-out items. Other stores may require that returns be made within a specific time period or require credit slips to be used within a certain time period. Businesses should post refund policies in a conspicuous place-near the cash register or customer service area. If the store policy is not posted, ask before making a purchase. With all the options available to retailers, make sure you consider the following:

Do you need to keep receipts or other identifying tags or boxes?

Is there a time limit for returns?

Do you have to use credit slips within a specified time?

Will the store accept returns of sale merchandise?

Many retailers allow no adjustments or returns on special orders. Others agree to accept a return but require consumers to pay a percentage of the bill. When you sign a contract for special-order items, ask the retailer about return policies. Insist that delivery dates be written into your contract and make sure any exceptions to normal policy are noted in writing.

Layaway PoliciesBefore laying any money down, be sure to check out the store's policy. Are there storage and layaway fees, maximum number of payments allowed, time limits between each payment or cancellation penalties or privileges? If you don't bother to check, you could lose your money.

What To Do If You Have a ProblemIf you experience mail-order or credit-card problems, we recommend that you first contact the retailer or the card issuer and attempt to resolve the problem.

Go through this list of tips in order to protect yourself from the credit card hackers who takes your money without your consent through the wireless sniffing process and make shopping through your cash.